Category: glasses

There are these things I carry around everyday. Without them I am different, I look different and people perceive me as different. Actually, people have perceived me different to them because of these things.

What I am talking about is glasses.

Now glasses are not a major be all to end all in life but sometimes I would prefer not to need them at all. Someone once said to me that they find it weird that people can’t see ‘properly’. I actually find it weird that some people can. From a younger age I was often told I was looking at people with a angry face – though it was just me trying to see objects far away. I often couldn’t read what was written by teachers in school but to me that was the norm.

Then the day came when through one thing or another in my teenage years, I went for an eye test and was told I had to wear glasses. I didn’t have to wear them all the time from that point. I was only told them that I need to wear them at school or when watching television. Even then I only felt comfortable wearing my glasses at home and on occasion wore them at school.

I hated them. When I looked in the mirror I didn’t see the person I was, I saw a person who was different and wasn’t normal. In my head I attached myself to this stigma that people with glasses were a minority and were outcasts to everyone else. Awkward teenage years indeed.

It wasn’t until I saw characters on television like David Tennants portrayal of The Doctor and Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones (both of whom wore glasses) did I see myself differently. I saw myself as someone who was different because I wore glasses, but maybe that was ok. These people were highly intelligent and action heroes in their mediums. They used intelligence to save the day and glasses to me could signify this. So – if superheroes wear glasses – maybe I had a super power?

With this mindset I was still slightly embarrassed to wear glasses. I had these very cheap frames because it was all my family could afford and I had then developed ‘glasses envy’. Everywhere I looked people had cooler frames compared to me and looked better. I had to have better glasses. This wouldn’t come until I became older and working helped raise my self-esteem with wearing glasses, as I could buy any pair I wanted. Two for one deals are also the best.

The thing I’ve noticed as I’ve got older -where I have accepted that I wear glasses – is non-glasses wearers. These people will want to do a number of things:

They will want to try your glasses on to see ‘how blind’ you are and then tell me ‘you must be blind’. Well for one, I’m not blind because I can see and secondly I wear glasses to see and not for some hipster fashion statement.

People will want to try your glasses on to take a picture where they will either: ask people how ‘intelligent’ they look; take a selfie send to people to see ‘how much of a geek they are’; Or to see how much they suit glasses.

My Philosophical Dilemma

When I look through my glasses am I seeing the world the same as those with perfect eyesight. Or, am I seeing the world differently.

I am sure that there is a explanation for this as any Optician may tell you but it is a random thought you get in your head at 2am in the morning.